Thank you for this great review. For me, I use Bonavita BV1900TS for about a year and I can say that it is Perfect. It’s equipped with most features that are desirable for home brewing. With this coffee maker, you won’t enjoy high-end functionalities, but you will prepare great coffee every time. The black and stainless finish makes it appear beautiful in your kitchen. The stainless steel lining extends the durability of the machine.
The monks thought the goat herder was a fool, and told him as much by throwing the beans in the fire. Sigh. Well, soon the enticing aroma of fresh roasted coffee was too much to ignore. The monks henceforth reversed their snubbing of coffee beans, scooped them out of the fire and threw them into some hot water. Then they drank the dark brew. Ta-da! The first cup of coffee! That was back in the year 850CE.
Here at the Strategist, we like to think of ourselves as crazy (in the good way) about the stuff we buy (like pillows), but as much as we’d like to, we can’t try everything. Which is why we have People’s Choice, in which we find the best-reviewed (that’s four-to-five-star reviews and lots of ‘em) products and single out the most convincing. While we’ve written about coffee machines, coffee grinders, even gifts for coffee lovers, here, we’ve gone deep on the best espresso machines on Amazon, according to the people. (Note that reviews have been edited for length and clarity.)
Espresso machines can be intimidating. We wanted something that did not require reading a novel-sized manual, watching a lot of YouTube videos, or reading tons of articles about espresso pulling. Yes, making espresso does require some learning for the home brewer. That's part of the fun, but the machine shouldn't be discouraging and impossible to use out of the box.
Whole bean coffee that you grind yourself is preferable to pre-ground, too. The bean’s exterior traps and protects all of the delicate, volatile, and water-soluble oils that give coffee its flavor. As soon as you break the protective shell, it’s easy for the flavor to get contaminated, and much of the aroma escapes as soon as the oils are exposed to air.
As a coffee nut, coffee-shop lover, and former professional barista, I don’t normally make recommendations for home espresso equipment. Not because I don't want you to have delicious espresso at home, but because it takes a lot of practice and a lot of burned fingers to learn to make espresso well. Many people invest in an espresso machine like they invest in the exercise equipment that becomes a very expensive coat rack: If you're going to buy it and never use it, you're almost always better off going to the local café.
It also automatically pre-infuses the coffee, allowing the grounds to vent their CO2 and “bloom.” Remember, only half of the machines we tested had this feature, and it proved to pay off in our taste tests. The four machines we recommend all pre-infuse. Only one coffee maker without it, the Hamilton Beach, performed well at all in our taste tests — but that guy was so cheap and flimsy, part of the brew basket broke during our testing. Sorry, Hamilton Beach.
It also automatically pre-infuses the coffee, allowing the grounds to vent their CO2 and “bloom.” Remember, only half of the machines we tested had this feature, and it proved to pay off in our taste tests. The four machines we recommend all pre-infuse. Only one coffee maker without it, the Hamilton Beach, performed well at all in our taste tests — but that guy was so cheap and flimsy, part of the brew basket broke during our testing. Sorry, Hamilton Beach.
Tamp: To ensure the espresso is evenly packed, your machine comes with a tamp, which you’ll press into the basket against the grounds. This step is important: When you pull a shot, the water will go to the place of least resistance, avoiding densely packed areas. This denser espresso won’t be properly saturated, making it under-extracted and sour, while the looser espresso will be over-extracted and bitter.
very surprised that you did not include the Behmor Brazen Plus Temp Controlled Coffeemaker. Better price then many that you have listed and it offers so many extras, including a pre-soak. I buy pricey coffee, even Geshas when affordable so need a good coffee maker and suggest testors try this one too to see if they feel it is worthy of adding to the list
“I am a coffee snob, and one of my favorite things about traveling to Europe is their espresso and cappuccinos. A couple years ago, I bought a Nespresso Aeroccino machine for making froth and a stovetop Moka pot for making espresso; the system has worked fine, but the espresso can take awhile to make (around 5-8 minutes) and there’s definitely a learning curve to making good coffee with it. … [How] does this machine do [in comparison]? Stellar. Absolutely stellar. Once the water is in and it heats up, you flip up a lever, drop in the pod, and press the size button (espresso or lungo). Off it goes! Brewing is super quick and the espresso always comes out with a beautiful crema on top. My first drink was a cappuccino, and it was so much better than the ones I’ve been making with my Moka pot! …
If you drink enough espresso, and are passionate enough to own a machine at home, it's worth shelling out the money for the fully equipped Breville Brewmaster and learning how to make amazing cappuccinos, lattes, and cortados for yourself. You get a machine and a hobby all in one. An espresso machine is a luxury and making this kind of coffee is an art, so you should opt for the right tools. However, the Gaggia is a less-expensive close second that'll require learning on your part, but will let you tinker to the point of producing a great espresso. Finally, if you want consistent coffee without any effort, opt for the Jura.

As legend has it, Ethiopian goats were the first to discover the delightful properties of coffee beans when they ate the raw beans right off the stem. The goats nibbled happily away at the beans, probably right around 2 o'clock every afternoon, until finally an astute goat herder noticed the goats' perky behavior, gave the beans a taste, found them quite stimulating, and rushed them off to the nearest monastery.

Now you can make authentic espressos, lattes and cappuccinos to suit your taste, in the comfort of your kitchen. Whatever your preference — single or double espresso, cappuccino or latte — the manual espresso machine brews authentic barista-quality beverages just like you enjoy at your favorite coffeehouse. With a manual espresso machine, you are guaranteed a true crema that’s rich, creamy, and full of flavor. Water and steam are heated separately thanks to the dual thermostat system, allowing crema to reach the ultimate consistency without scalding the coffee. For milk-based beverages, the manual frother mixes steam and milk to create a rich, creamy froth for evenly textured drinks — just the way you like them. Our patented three-in-one filter holders give you total control over your beverages and allow you to choose from one shot, two shot, or convenient espresso pods. The built-in tamper provides great flavor without the guesswork, and while the cappuccino systems may vary in method (one-touch automation for a semi-automatic model, versus an advanced manual frother for a traditional pump espresso machine), the results are consistently excellent. Don't like the idea of coffee grounds spilling everywhere, but still love the taste of fresh coffee? If you want all the convenience of an attached milk steamer and espresso maker, but less of the mess, we recommend the Nespresso range, with its convenient espresso pods, just as versatile as any of our other coffee machines. At De’Longhi, we’re proud of our manual espresso machines, and we hope you’ll be as enchanted by them as we are. Choose from a range of sleek, stylish designs, in black, red or stainless steel. Our machines are easy to use, easy to clean and easy to fill — exactly how they’re supposed to be.
While clever baristas are always coming up with twists on common coffee staples, the most popular beverages are based on a shot or more of espresso and steamed milk with a layer of foam artistically placed on top. Cappuccino is among the most popular espresso-based drinks, but with some clever applications of milk and cream, they sky is the limit as to what you can create.
This product brings easy brewing and convenient cleaning to your countertop. With the brew-pause feature, you can sneak a cup while the coffee maker is still brewing without interrupting the process. The keep-warm function keeps your coffee nice and warm so you can come back again and again to a fresh-tasting cup. An easy cleaning cycle and durable dishwasher safe carafe help to reduce the time you spend cleaning up.
If tinkering is what you’re most excited about, we recommend the Behmor Brazen Plus Customizable Temperature Control Brew System. This is a drip machine that takes its job seriously. It performed the very best in our out-of-the-box taste testing, but still gives you the opportunity to play around with different variables, from water temperature to pre-infusion times. At around $200, it’s on-par with the OXO 9-Cup price-wise, but is definitely not as nice to look at or use, with a tall, bulbous body, squat carafe, and an eight-button programmable interface that reminded us of a digital alarm clock.
That said, it’s not as elegant to use as the OXO machines. (Nor is it as nice to look at. One tester described its tall, bulbous body and squat carafe as “UFO-like.”) Take its eight-button controls, for example, which you use to toggle among brew modes, scroll up and down within the menu, and engage a manual brewing feature. Programming it to start brewing at a certain time was about as intuitive as setting an alarm on a clock radio — easy enough, but more technical than sleek. OXO definitely feels like the future; Behmor is more, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
As a coffee nut, coffee-shop lover, and former professional barista, I don’t normally make recommendations for home espresso equipment. Not because I don't want you to have delicious espresso at home, but because it takes a lot of practice and a lot of burned fingers to learn to make espresso well. Many people invest in an espresso machine like they invest in the exercise equipment that becomes a very expensive coat rack: If you're going to buy it and never use it, you're almost always better off going to the local café.
The Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew coffee maker System has a highly modular design, with its rectangular water reservoir easily sliding in and out of the chassis. For those who only want a cup of basic coffee, you will find that the Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew coffee maker System will do that very well – its "brew now" button is found on the front of the machine.
Hand-tooled and bench-tested in Italy, this espresso maker looks, works, and performs like it belongs in a small coffee shop, despite fitting tidily on your kitchen counter. This machine is built to last 10 to 15 years; less expensive machines at best might survive the five-year mark, and some can’t be expected to reach three. We also loved the sheer quality of every part included with our Rocket. The heft metal tamp fits perfectly in the machine’s own portafilter baskets and improved the shot-making experience of other machines when we used it with theirs.
From there, it’s up to your personal preference. Arabica beans have a higher acidity, with notes of fruit and berries. Robusta beans are darker and richer, with more caffeine. Different levels of roasts — light, medium, dark — determine how much of the beans’ oils will break through the surface of the bean, which also affects acidity, flavor, and caffeine levels. “Get to know your local coffee expert,” recommends Awan. Nothing beats a conversation with a barista or local coffee roaster who can help you try different beans and roasts, and to experiment with those variables in real time. Finding your favorite is all part of the fun.
That said, it’s not as elegant to use as the OXO machines. (Nor is it as nice to look at. One tester described its tall, bulbous body and squat carafe as “UFO-like.”) Take its eight-button controls, for example, which you use to toggle among brew modes, scroll up and down within the menu, and engage a manual brewing feature. Programming it to start brewing at a certain time was about as intuitive as setting an alarm on a clock radio — easy enough, but more technical than sleek. OXO definitely feels like the future; Behmor is more, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
Cuisinart's premium single-serve brewer offers freedom of choice! Choose the ideal temperature and enjoy a cup of coffee, tea, soup or cocoa. This brewer is K-Cup compatible and also includes a home barista reusable filter cup for your favorite brew. The drip tray pulls out to accommodate travel mugs and the 72-ounce water reservoir eliminates the need for frequent refills! With Cuisinart's premium single-serve brewer you'll get sensational brew cup after cup.

The gist: Okay, so although most of our list focuses on countertop espresso makers, if we're going by Amazon reviews, it'd be an injustice to ignore this Bialetti Stovertop Espresso Maker. As Amazon's best-selling stovetop espresso maker, this classy little thing is POP-U-LAR. As in 6,950 reviews (and counting) popular. Most impressively, those reviews give it an average of 4.3 stars, with 74% of them giving it a perfect 5-star rating. That's a hell of a lot of happy people. Now, disclaimer: we do have to mention straight away that the Bialetti doesn't *technically* make espresso, considering it's not able to build the amount of bars of pressure necessary to again, *technically* qualify it as espresso. However, Bialetti does give tips and guidelines for how to brew their "moka" coffee to your liking. (Moka is described as a mix between coffee and espresso.) Also, some reviewers (see below for example) claim they can't even tell the difference between the moka and a shot of espresso.

The Breville is technically a semi-automatic espresso maker, since it requires you to dose and tamp your own shots, but we found it more forgiving than true automatics. The Breville’s dual-wall filter baskets (in addition to two standard single-wall baskets) add extra pressure, providing a little forgiveness for beginners’ mistakes in either grinding the beans or tamping the shot.
Instead, our main concern was how well the wand incorporated air and steam into the mix for velvety, frothy texture. In our testing with our coffee expert, he pointed out that inferior steamer wands made giant air bubbles that quickly popped and only pumped air into the milk, without incorporating foam consistently throughout. So, we looked for a steamer wand that made consistent, well-incorporated foam.
What Amazon users have to say: Reviewers love that you can customize the amount of froth in your drink. They also love the simplicity of use: just add water, add milk to the frother container, add coffee, and you’re ready to go. A major plus for the aficionados: this machine still gives you the option to use your own coffee grounds instead of pods, allowing for fresh and customizable brews. Several users noted how the quality of the espresso is “amazing for the price” of the machine.
The Hamilton Beach 12-Cup BrewStation coffee maker offers convenient one-hand dispensing without a conventional glass carafe. There's no pouring or spills, and nothing fragile to break and replace. It’s impossible to get freshly brewed flavor from coffee that’s been sitting on a hot plate too long. That’s why the Hamilton Beach BrewStation was created to be the only coffeemaker that keeps coffee tasting fresh for up to four hours. This best-selling coffee maker works just like a...

The Breville machine was also the only semi-automatic model to produce a velvety, well-incorporated foam. The consistency with which it incorporated air made for a beautifully textured latte—and our coffee expert was even able to make some latte art with it (something that was impossible with the air bubbles from other models, including the Gaggia and all of the less expensive machines).

The Hamilton Beach 12-Cup BrewStation coffee maker offers convenient one-hand dispensing without a conventional glass carafe. There's no pouring or spills, and nothing fragile to break and replace. No matter how much you try, it’s impossible to get freshly brewed flavor from coffee that’s been sitting on a hot plate too long. That’s why the Hamilton Beach BrewStation was created, the only coffeemaker that keeps coffee tasting fresh for up to four hours. This best-selling coffee maker...
If tinkering is what you’re most excited about, we recommend the Behmor Brazen Plus Customizable Temperature Control Brew System. This is a drip machine that takes its job seriously. It performed the very best in our out-of-the-box taste testing, but still gives you the opportunity to play around with different variables, from water temperature to pre-infusion times. At around $200, it’s on-par with the OXO 9-Cup price-wise, but is definitely not as nice to look at or use, with a tall, bulbous body, squat carafe, and an eight-button programmable interface that reminded us of a digital alarm clock.